NH police gun raffle raises a few eyebrows

Saturday

Mar 9, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police’s president defends its 31-gun raffle in May that includes assault rifles similar to those used in the Newtown, Conn., shootings, but some law enforcement officials say the raffle is inappropriate and too soon and adds to the glorification of the gun culture, while others say it is no different from raffling off a chain saw.

The $30 tickets sold like hotcakes, and all 1,000 of them were gone by mid-January. In May, one gun a day will be raffled off to raise money for an annual cadet-training program.

The fundraiser — sponsored by the association in partnership with two New Hampshire gun makers, Sig Sauer and Sturm, Ruger & Co.— surprised many police chiefs in Worcester County, according to retired Police Chief A. Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

“A lot of us were surprised when we heard about it,” Mr. Sampson said. “Clearly it is nothing we have ever done and or have any intentions of doing. We don’t think it is appropriate for us.”

In a state with a motto of “Live Free or Die,” he said New Hampshire residents have much stronger opinions about firearms, but added this is not a New Hampshire issue.

“Guns come into this state from all over the country,” he said. “Illegal guns filter though our entire country.”

When New Hampshire association president Paul T. Donovan, who is chief in Salem, N.H., was called for comment, his assistant said he was not giving any on the issue and referred all questions to the association’s executive director, Anne Dalton.

Ms. Dalton said that although the association has held many raffles previously to raise money, this is the first time it has held a raffle of guns.

“That letter is his (Mr. Donovan’s) position on the raffle,” she said of a Jan. 14 letter posted on the association’s website, when asked why they decided to raffle guns this year. She would not comment further on the matter.

“The New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police has recently drawn criticism as a result of a legal fundraiser that began in October 2012,” the letter says. “The fundraiser, called ‘a month of firearms,’ involves the selling of raffle tickets to win a firearm each day during the month of May, 2013.”

The website, www.nhchiefsofpolice.com, advertises the contest, and rules stipulate that winners are required to meet all applicable laws and follow rules for firearm ownership and possession. The chiefs worked closely with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office to ensure the fundraiser followed all applicable rules and regulations prior to commencing the sale of the first ticket, the letter says.

“While this raffle falls on the heels of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police extends their deepest sympathies to the families and first responders,” the letter continues. “New Hampshire Chiefs of Police feel the issues with these tragic shootings are ones that are contrary to lawful and responsible gun ownership. We believe in and support the Second Amendment, and encourage education in the area of firearms safety.”

New Braintree Police Chief Gilbert A. DuVernay, who is also president of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors’ and Armorers’ Association, said he is in favor of the raffle.

“Guns are a legal product, and there is nothing more inherently wrong with raffling a gun than raffling a chain saw,” Chief DuVernay said. “Both are very dangerous, and both are lawful products,” Chief DuVernay said. “The safety in both of those things is with the operator. Both are as safe or as dangerous as the person operating them.”

Guns, he said, are a lawful, wholesome product.

“To suggest there is something wrong with the raffle is to suggest there is something immoral about using this perfectly lawful, wholesome product,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with law-abiding citizens engaging in shooting sports, carrying firearms for their own personal protection, hunting or any other lawful purpose. To suggest police chiefs should not be raffling firearms is to suggest there is something unwholesome and immoral about using firearms by civilians, and there is nothing further than the truth.”

However, Scott M. Livingston, police chief in Winchendon, which borders New Hampshire, said the raffle shines a poor light on law enforcement, especially so soon after the Newtown, Conn., shootings.

“I don’t think it is a good idea to be handing guns out,” Chief Livingston said. “There is enough guns out on the street. I understand New Hampshire is checking who is receiving the guns, but right now, especially after Newtown and other shootings, it doesn’t look upon the profession very well putting guns out there.”

Guns do not stop at state lines, and he is concerned about guns crossing the border into Massachusetts, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, he said. Federal background checks are needed to stop illegal guns from entering the state, he said.

“There is not a reason in the world why we shouldn’t do background checks,” he said. “But, there is not a law out there that can remove guns from criminals. All the reform they are talking about doing does not target criminals.”

One proposal to restrict the manufacture of ammunition could help, he said.

“There is already enough out there right now, and they still have them,” he said. “But the less made, the better.”

Erving M. Marshall is police chief in Townsend, which also borders New Hampshire. While a sergeant on the same department in the 1980s, there was a triple homicide in the small town. A mother and her two children were killed with a .22 automatic.

A lot of people in New Hampshire feel strongly about the right to bear arms, he said, but the raffle may have gone a little too far.

“With all the controversy surrounding assault weapons going on right now and incidents involving assault weapons, I don’t think it is a great idea for police to get involved in raffles of this type in the midst of the controversy,” Chief Marshall said. “I’m all for gun ownership and rights under the Constitution, but it almost seems like a politically incorrect statement made by a police agency. Also, from my understanding all police chiefs in New Hampshire aren’t in favor of it.”

He, too, is concerned about guns coming over state lines.

“The regulations differ state to state — we have strict laws in Massachusetts, but we’re bordering a state with less strict restrictions on ownerships and gun control,” he said. “We need to come up with federal laws and federal bans for something that happens across state lines to be affected. If you’re licensed in New Hampshire, but not in Massachusetts, you can still carry firearms through other states under certain circumstances for hunting purposes or whatever to get to where you are going.”

Holden Police Chief George R. Sherrill said timing is everything.

“The first time I heard (of the raffle), two or three weeks ago, my initial reaction was I was taken aback,” he said. “Timing is everything, and this is poor timing on the chiefs’ part to offer something like that. Gun control is such a hot topic right now — even some of the chiefs in the New Hampshire association don’t agree with it. There is no uniformity across the nation among chiefs about what should be done.”

He said many feel people’s safety should come before people’s rights in this instance.

“The Sandy Hook shootings are still too fresh in everybody’s memory, and this raffle struck a raw nerve,” he said. “Connecticut is still holding proceedings to investigate the whole Sandy Hook incident, beginning to end, and it is too soon to be doing something like that. They couldn’t come up with something else? Auction off a motorcycle or car? It comes down to community standards.”

Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG.